NEW YORK — Some shrunken
Kohl's stores are getting a new neighbor: Planet Fitness gyms.

Kohl's, which is on a mission to shrink its biggest department
stores, said it will lease or sell the newly empty space at 10
locations to Planet Fitness, but may increase that number in the
future. The new neighbor won't share doors with Kohl's, but it hopes
that those who frequent Planet Fitness will also stop at Kohl's to
buy fitness trackers, workout tights or sneakers. The companies plan
to promote each other to their customers.

The company has a similar deal with no-frills German grocer Aldi,
opening the grocery stores next door to Kohl's. Planet Fitness said
its Kohl's-adjacent gyms will be between 20,000 square feet and
25,000 square feet. But don't expect others to follow Kohl's:
Target's CEO nixed the idea of gyms in stores when a reporter asked
about the Kohl's and Planet Fitness deal at a New York event.

Kohl's has also been working to increase the brands in stores and
getting rid of ones that aren't connecting with shoppers. The
strategy seems to be working: Kohl's reported Tuesday that sales
rose 1 percent at established stores during the holiday shopping
season.

Shares of Kohl's Corp. soared nearly 8 percent Tuesday afternoon.

Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based Kohl's, which has more than 1,100
stores, also reported that its fourth-quarter profit fell 42 percent
to $272 million, lowered by taxes, store closings and other costs.
Its adjusted earnings per share came to $2.24, beating expectations
by Wall Street analysts. Revenue fell 3 percent to $6.8 billion in
the three months ending Feb. 2.

Besides the gyms, Kohl's said it is expanding its partnership with
online retail giant Amazon, selling Kindle tablets, Echo
voice-activated devices and other gadgets in over 200 stores. Amazon
already had a presence in about 100 Kohl's stores, but Kohl's is
moving away from Amazon shops inside Kohl's where Amazon workers
helped shoppers. Instead, there will be a dedicated Amazon section
in Kohl's where customers can help themselves.

"It will be more in a self-serve environment, which is how our
customers are used to shopping us," said Kohl's CEO Michelle Gass.

This story has been corrected to show that
Kohl's quarterly revenue slipped to $6.8 billion, not $6.5 billion.